It was a feeble socket that held it. It was a constant surprise
that so small a candle could give forth so much light. But its
special mission was not so much to illumine the world with its own
light as it was to ignite other minds and hearts from its own
flame. "Behold how much wood is kindled by how small a fire!" says
the apostle. Nothing is small, it has been said, which is great in
its consequences. It does not need a stroke of lightning from
heaven to raze Chicago to the ground: a little lamp-flame near a
pile of hay is sufficient. We forget sometimes the power of a
single humble life to extend and duplicate its influence. We have
never learned yet how far the little candle can throw its beams,
when its waves of light and heat come in contact with minds and
hearts that are prepared for the illumination it may give. The wire
and the battery have not entirely superseded the torch-bearer. The
lamps in the house may have been filled, the gas may be ready to
turn on; what is needed is for some one to go about with match or
torch or candle, and tip the burner with its flame.
So, as we have said, it was the mission of this candle of the Lord
to ignite other minds and hearts. She had discovered that the vast
system of intercommunication established by the post-office might
be used for moral as well as for commercial means. In connection
with a faithful co-worker, she devoted herself to the dissemination
of kindling literature. Set like a luminous panel amid a great wall
of advertisements was a brief notice, in some of the large Western
dailies, that those who wished Liberal religious literature might
have it for the asking, and by sending to the Cincinnati Post
Office Mission. In the columns of this paper, from time to time, we
have shown what a wide-spread influence these little notices had.
They opened avenues of communication to many hungry souls. The
confidence of many in doubt and perplexity was secured. The lady
who was called to this special work had a keen intuition as to what
was needed in each special case. It was not only that she sent the
right tracts and the right books, and thus set up guide-posts for
groping men and women; not less prized by many of her
correspondents was the simple, earnest faith and cordial sympathy
which she expressed in her own letters. Many are grateful to her
for pointing out the way and giving the right impulse at the right
time. Prevented by deafness from taking an active part in social
intercourse, she yet found an opportunity to unstop the deaf ears
of others and to open their blind eyes. In this Post Office Mission
work was a channel for her faithful and consecrated endeavors.
We cannot estimate the radiating influence of such a life. Its
quickening flame has gone from heart to heart, and it is destined
to go still further. Her devoted example has given an impulse to
many other women in the Unitarian body, who are sowing in the same
field the seed for an abundant harvest. It is now seen that this
diffusion of our literature is one of the mightiest means for
propagating our faith. If such a devoted woman, working
independently, could accomplish so much, how much more might be
effected by thorough organizations and wide co-operation for the
same purpose!
Her best monument will be the prosecution and extension of the work
to which she gave her life. It was but a pair of lines in the
"Deaths" of the last week's "Register" which told that the candle
had gone out, but its flame is still propagated in the lives it has
served to kindle. The great work of her life was done far beyond
the circle of her immediate influence; and there are many who have
never seen her in the flesh, who will still feel that the name of
Sarah Ellis represents an abiding spiritual reality.
* * * * *
(From Rev. George A. Thayer in "Unity," Jan. 23, 1886.)